


The Unintentional Rescue of Prince Zuko

by murphyenby



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Angst, Azula (Avatar) Redemption, Bisexual Male Character, Bisexual Sokka (Avatar), F/F, Firebending & Firebenders, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Homophobia, Knight, Knight in Shining Armour, M/M, Trans Male Character, Trans Zuko (Avatar), Transphobia
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-30
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-17 00:22:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 12,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29091234
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/murphyenby/pseuds/murphyenby
Summary: Prince Zuko has spent three years banished in a tower that is guarded by a fearsome dragon. He tried to escape every day, but every day he fails; until one day he is "rescued" by a Knight called Sokka. Sokka, however, was expecting a princess.
Relationships: Azula/Ty Lee (Avatar), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 16
Kudos: 204





	1. Chapter 1

Once Upon a Time, there was a lonely Prince who lived in a tower. 

Each day, that Prince would stare out of his only window, scheming up plans to escape from the deadly dragon which guarded his tower he was trapped in.

Every day, his plans failed. He counted the days, checking them off in a spot on his wall-  _ 1098 days so far _ . 

There was just no escaping the poor Prince’s tower. It was tall enough that one would die if they tried to jump out, and that dragon was incredibly fierce. 

He had tried to dig a tunnel, but the stone of the tower was just too difficult to pierce through. He had tried to find a secret door or something of the sort,  _ anything _ to get out of this  _ stupid _ tower. He had even tried to climb down himself, but the dragon had caught him and delivered a blast of fire-breath that the Prince barely escaped. 

This unfortunate prince’s name was Zuko. 

1098 days ago, Prince Zuko had been banished to this tower. He was to be left alone, isolated, in one room, to fend for himself. 

This was his punishment until a knight brave enough to rescue him finally showed up; but Zuko simply had no desire to be rescued. In his mind, if he wanted something done right, he had to do it himself- so that was what he would do. 

He would escape this tower if it was the last thing he ever did, and it very well could be. 

On the 1099th day, Zuko woke up in a terrible mood. His hair was messy and his muscles ached from his escape attempt yesterday (lowering a rope from the top of the tower to the bottom). He rubbed his good eye.

Stretching, he got out of his bed and made his way to the window on the other side of the room. 

He stared out of it, seeing the smoke from the dragon’s massive nostrils fill the open air. 

Hatred seized his body at the sight of that thick, black smoke, and it took all of his effort not to attempt another escape then and there.  _ Not yet, _ thought the Prince, clenching his fists,  _ not yet. I have to plan.  _

So Zuko got to work. He sat at his desk and pulled out the bottom-most drawer to reveal dozens upon dozens of rolled up scrolls. 

Inside of those scrolls was three years worth of daring escape plans. 

Zuko feverishly rummaged through his drawer, tossing out any scroll that he didn’t deem acceptable and gathering up the ones he liked into his arms. 

“Okay,” he muttered to himself, “what will this dragon least expect?”

  
And he started to write down an escape plan - his  _ final _ escape plan, if he had anything to say about it - with his tongue between his teeth and his resolve set firm. 

* * *

“Oh, no- oh, god -  _ OW! _ ” 

There was a crack of a branch, loud  _ thud _ , and a high-pitched yelp. 

Sokka stumbled out of the woods and into a clearing, rubbing his head (which now had a bump the size of an egg on it.)

Everything had gone wrong for him today- with his food rations being stolen earlier that morning, nearly being mauled by a bear, and now, a branch falling on his head, he was simply miserable. Never again would he agree to go on a rescue mission on foot. 

As a knight of the royal guard, Sokka was well used to discomfort- but that didn’t stop him from complaining profusely about it.

“Stupid tree,” he grumbled, still rubbing the red spot on the top of his head. “Stupid bear, stupid thieves, and stupid-” Sokka turned around to face the clearing he was in. “-tree…”

A blink.

Sokka was standing in the most beautiful meadow he had ever seen. The sun made the grass glow brightest green. There were flowers on every inch of the ground, and the trees surrounding the clearing made almost a perfect circle. Butterflies dotted the air in every direction. Sokka knelt down to pick a particularly pretty purple flower; he stuck it behind his ear for safekeeping. Everything about this little oasis was naturally gorgeous, except for, ya know, the sky-scraping tower in the center, and the dragon curled up around it, presumably asleep.

Sokka took in the amazing beauty of the meadow for as long as he possibly-  _ wait _ .

_ What was that again? _

_ Dragon _ ?!

Sokka screamed aloud- and then covered his own mouth to keep himself quiet. The dragon let out a small groan and it stirred in its sleep, causing Sokka’s palms to sweat and his pulse race. He couldn’t afford to wake up that giant sleeping monster. 

Now, instead of the beauty of the meadow, he could only see the puffs of smoke wafting from the dragon’s nostrils. It was truly a terrifying sight. 

Slowly, the knight drew his sword, trying not to make any noise. He slowly stepped forward, thinking hard. It wasn’t that uncommon to find a tower in the middle of nowhere in this kingdom- and usually, those towers contained a cursed princess waiting for true love’s kiss. 

To no one’s surprise, the thought of this perked Sokka right up.  It seemed to give him a newfound courage. The knight took a confident step forward- 

_ crack _ . 

A twig snapped under his foot. 

This time, there was no going back. 

The dragon awoke with a deafening roar. Its massive head swiveled in every direction, trying to find the source of the noise- and Sokka did the only thing he knew to do. 

He ran towards the tower, breathing hard, and jumped onto the wall of it.

Slowly, painstakingly, he climbed stone by stone to the top of the tower. 

Meanwhile, the dragon had pinpointed Sokka and was trying to aim a suitable blast of fire in his direction. It was angry- nobody had ever gotten this far in their pursuit towards the tower before, and it seemed like this idiot had gotten there out of sheer luck. 

Sokka had no idea how he had gotten this far. He was sweating so much he could barely see, but he was halfway up the tower. Suddenly a fire blast blew only a foot away from his body; he felt the tips of his hair singe. The only thing he could think to do was scream. Only a few more feet… 

The knight threw himself into the open window - thank  _ god _ it had been open - and took a few deep breaths, his head in his hands. “Alright, Princess,” began Sokka, standing up in a proud sort of way, “Your rescue has arrived!” And he turned around to greet said Princess. 

Except… there was no princess. 

Sitting there, a cup of water spilled on the floor under him, was a young man about Sokka’s age. He had a horrible scar on one side of his face, so his right eye seemed halfway closed. 

They stared at each other, aghast, for what seemed like an eternity. 

“Who in La’s name are you?” 

That seemed to bring the  _ boy  _ (Sokka still couldn’t get over that) out of his shocked state, because his expression morphed into a glare.

“Who are  _ you? _ ”

Again, the two boys stared into the other’s eyes, dumbfounded. Sokka could see that the strange boy wasn’t helpless; the muscles under his white shirt proved it very well.

Sokka finally cleared his throat. “I’m here to rescue the princess. Where is she? Are you keeping her captive?!”

The boy let out a small, humorless laugh as he stood up, now eye level with Sokka. “You were expecting a princess… of course. There is no princess, you idiot; there’s just me. The Prince.” 

Sokka’s jaw dropped. No- this couldn’t be right. This just couldn’t be. “Only Princesses are supposed to be locked in towers.” 

The Prince rolled his eyes. “Sorry to disappoint,” he snapped. “I take it you’ve slain the dragon?”

“Slain?” gulped Sokka. 

“Slain.” the Prince repeated, sounding annoyed. 

“Uh… About that-” 

“You didn't kill it?!” The Prince put his head in his hands and started pacing back and forth. All Sokka could seem to do was watch in horror. “Okay,” began the Prince, looking like he was thinking hard. “Okay. We can get out of this. Do you bend?” 

“No,” admitted Sokka, “I’m in the non-bending squadron.” 

“Of course,” seethed the Prince, his head looking like it was about to explode with anger. “How did you get in here in the first place?” 

“How haven’t you gotten out yet? I just stumbled in.” Sokka began to pace along with the Prince. 

“Will you shut up and let me think?!” The Prince snapped, a look of pure fire in his molten gold eyes. He paced some more.. and some more… and some more… until he finally looked up, his eyes blazing with a new kind of fire: courage. 

“With two people, this could actually work,” he muttered to himself. Then, he ran about his room, gathering up seemingly random objects. A rope made of torn bed sheets, a glass of water, an extra shirt, and something that looked to Sokka like a kitchen knife. 

The Prince handed one end of the rope to Sokka, who took it without question, and tied the other end onto a post of his bed. 

“Ready?” he asked, an intense gleam in his eye.

“For what?” asked Sokka. But he didn’t get an answer; The Prince tied the rope around Sokka’s waist and his own before picking Sokka up off the ground. 

“Hey!” Sokka protested, squirming in the Prince’s arms. A red blush was creeping up his cheeks- whether from the dragon’s heat or the situation at hand, he didn’t know. Then, without a warning, The Prince was running at the window. 

They jumped _right out of it._


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: there will be lots of transphobia and some homophobia among the antagonists of this book, so if you are sensitive to those kinds of things, please be watchful and careful! Thank you for reading!! 
> 
> -murphy

“ _ Oh my god- you’ve killed us! We’re dead! _ ” 

“Will you shut  _ up _ ?!” Prince Zuko, his brow starting to sweat as they rushed through the air, had a firm grip on the rope which was tied around both of their waists. “This might hurt- brace yourself.” 

“Brace myself for what?!” yelled the knight in Zuko’s arms. He looked absolutely terrified, and honestly, Zuko couldn’t blame him in the slightest- but he kept on a brave face. 

“To jump,” responded Zuko loudly, quickly untying the rope around their middles. He held on tightly to the rope (and to the knight) and tried his best to prepare himself for what was coming. 

“To  _ what?! _ ”

“ _ Jump _ !”

And they both went hurtling, facefirst, towards the ground. The knight’s screams echoed throughout the entire clearing as they landed. But something… wasn’t right. Zuko stood up, feeling the grass underneath his feet, and noticed that the meadow (besides that annoying knight’s whimpers) was completely silent. Something was wrong. 

“Get up,” ordered Zuko. He waited for a few seconds for the other boy to get off the ground (the Prince was kind of in a hurry), but he only continued to groan. Zuko looked down; he had to suppress a gasp. The knight’s leg was bleeding - profusely - and was bent at an angle that a healthy leg could not reach. It was most definitely broken. 

Without a word, the Prince bent down to pick up the injured boy. 

“Ow- ow, ow, ow…” whined the knight. 

“It’s really not that bad,” lied Zuko, trying to focus on the task at hand. 

“Not that bad?! You're not the one with a bone sticking out of your leg!”

The Prince ignored this comment. “Look, something’s not right. It’s quiet… Too quiet.” 

“So what if it’s quiet?” the knight argued, “Let’s just make a run for it while we still have the chance.” 

It was hard to argue with that, thought Zuko. 

They hobbled along, stopping every once in a while to readjust the knight’s hold on Zuko’s shoulders. Neither of them noticed the temperature around them rising steadily, as if someone had lit a fire underneath them. It was Zuko who finally muttered: “God, it’s hot out here- did the world heat up a few degrees since i was last allowed out in it?”

There was a low growl from behind them and a puff of smoke stung their eyes. 

The dragon was _ right behind them _ . 

“Run,” whispered Zuko. 

“I can’t!” the knight whisper-yelled back. 

“Then get on my back,” the Prince growled. 

“How am I supposed to do that when I can barely stand, your  _ Highness? _ ” sarcasm dripped from the knight’s voice- but Zuko wasn’t listening. He was focused on the massive, deep breath that the dragon had just taken- the kind of breath that meant fire. 

Zuko turned around to face the dragon just in time- it blasted a fountain of flame onto him and the knight he was protecting. He countered it with a fire blast of his own. His hands took the Dragon’s fire and bent it into nothingness. 

“We  _ have to go _ ,” he snapped, grabbing the knight and carrying him bridal-style once again. 

“ _ Stop picking me up like that! _ ” The knight screeched, squirming in the prince’s hold.

“ _Will you_ stop moving?! _I’m trying to get us_ out of here!” Zuko ran as fast as he possibly could towards an opening in the surrounding trees where the massive dragon could not follow them. 

Dodging another fire blast, the Prince leapt into the forest in front of him, leaving a trail of flames behind. 

Once there, he dropped the knight on the ground (with a resounding squeal) and turned to stare at his past home. 

“I’m finally out of there,” he whispered in disbelief, good eye wide. But his face did not break into a smile as most people’s would. Instead, his look of determination deepened. Now, he had even more drive. He had a newfound resolve. Now, he could finally confront his father. 

On the ground, the knight continued to whimper. His face looked pale, like a ghost, and his eyes were squeezed shut in obvious pain. 

Zuko sighed and debated his options. First, he could help the guy out. He had a stoppered glass of water and a second shirt in his hands- with a stick from the woods, he could easily make a splint for him. This option was… the nice thing to do. It was, however, extremely inefficient for Zuko. The second option was leaving the knight behind. It would certainly be easier than helping him out. An injury would hinder him; make him more vulnerable. But, then again, one look at the knight’s troubled face pulled at Zuko’s heartstrings in all the right ways. 

So, he pulled out the glass of water and the shirt from under his jacket. He knelt down next to the knight. “Give me your leg,” he said quietly. 

“How do I know I can trust you?” fired back the Knight. 

“You don’t.” Zuko deadpanned. 

The Knight stared at Prince Zuko for a solid minute before finally stretching his leg as far as it could go (which was not very far) towards Zuko. 

“So, what’s your name?” asked the Prince, gently taking hold of the knight’s leg. 

“Sokka,” replied the knight. 

“That’s a weird name for a Knight in the king’s non-bending squadron,” Zuko retorted. He was waiting for the right moment… 

“Yeah, I guess it is,” muttered Sokka, trying to keep his breaths short and shallow. “You see, I grew up closer to the south pole, but-” The knight gasped and screamed, followed by a string of curse words that were too foul to mention. Zuko had taken Sokka’s leg and repositioned it, putting the bone back in place. 

“You coulda warned me!” Sokka cried, throwing a betrayed look in Zuko’s direction. 

“Then it would have hurt more,” the Prince explained, as if talking to a child. He grabbed the shirt and tore it into smaller pieces; so much for being able to change clothes later. Zuko poured water over Sokka’s wound, earning a hiss from the injured boy, and wrapped the clean shirt pieces around it. 

“Feel okay?” he asked calmly. 

“Do you want me to be honest, or polite?” asked Sokka, somewhat joking. 

“Polite.” Zuko stated. He was not joking. 

“I feel great, thanks,” squeaked Sokka. He did his best to sit up, leaning against a tree. “So,” the knight adjusted his chestplate painfully, “what’s your name, O Mighty Prince?”

“That’s not important,” grumbled the Prince. 

“Come on- I didn’t even know there  _ was _ a prince. Last I heard there was Princess Azula and the runaway.” 

“I’m from a different kingdom,” Zuko said, rather quickly. “My name is Prince Zuko- please address me as such.” 

Sokka rolled his eyes. “I will not address you as Prince all of the…” but seeing Zuko’s threatening look, the knight cowered. “Fine, then. Prince Zuko it is.”

Zuko nodded. “We can rest here for the night. How far along in your training are you? Do you know how to make a basic fire?” 

Sokka once again rolled his eyes. “Of course I know how to make a basic fire- what do you think I am, a recruit? No, no- I’m a knight. A full knight.” 

“Great,” Zuko retorted with mock happiness, “then make one.” 

Sokka gasped in false disbelief. “Really, O Thee Great Prince Zuko, thou wouldst leave an injured man to grovel alone?” 

Zuko’s fists clenched at his sides. “Fine,” he said through clenched teeth, “I’ll make the fire if you shut up.” 

“Who put a lizard up your sock today?” grumbled the knight. 

“Oh, I don’t know- maybe the Dragon that almost killed us?” Zuko yelled with intense heat. Smoke hissed from in between his fingers. 

There was a moment of tense silence while Zuko gathered wood to make a fire. He knelt down to form a small pyramid of sticks, and then lit it with a snap of his fingers. 

“This should keep us warm,” muttered the Prince. He turned his back to Sokka. 

Another moment of thick, uneasy silence went by. 

“So… you’re a firebender, huh?” asked Sokka, trying to get more conversation out of the Prince. Something about that broody manner and strange skill intrigued him. 

Zuko didn’t answer. Instead, he laid down on the soft layer of earth that coated the forest floor and closed his eyes. He was obviously not interested in speaking. 

“Broody,” muttered Sokka, before turning and trying to sleep against the trunk of his tree. 

The fire crackled, the wind roared, and neither boy slept; they each held visions of the next few days in their dreams, and none of those visions looked promising. 


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning, Sokka woke up with the sun, and with a horrible, throbbing pain in his leg. “I almost forgot,” he grumbled sarcastically, “my leg is broken. How wonderful.”

Sokka turned to see if Zuko was awake; he wasn’t. The Prince was sleeping peacefully on the ground, his head resting on his arm like it was a pillow. This sight made Sokka smile. It wasn’t the way Zuko’s mouth was slightly open, or the way he seemed to hug himself when he slept that made Sokka grin, but the fact that his face seemed so incredibly peaceful. There was no hiding the massive scar on the Prince’s face- in fact, it had been the first thing Sokka noticed when he saw Zuko. But as he slept on the ground in the early morning light, Zuko's face looked finally peaceful. It looked… almost innocent. 

Sokka watched the prince for a long while before he began to stir. 

Zuko sat up, his hair messy and his foul expression right back where it had been. He glared over at Sokka. “What are  _ you _ looking at?” 

“I’m not looking at anything,” replied the knight, his nose turned up. 

“You were staring at me.” 

“I most definitely was not!”

Rolling his eyes, Zuko stood up and stamped on the ashes of their once-burning fire. “We can’t have anyone following us. You’re a knight- where is Ozai’s kingdom?”

Sokka’s eyes went wide. “Why would you want to go to Ozai’s kingdom?” 

“I have business there.” deadpanned the Prince. 

“Wow, you are so very specific, your Vagueness,” teased Sokka with a disgruntled look on his face. “Look, we’re both stuck here together. You need me to get to Ozai’s kingdom and I need you to… well, to walk. So why don’t you just tell me why you’re really going there so that I can know whether or not I can trust you not to stab me in the back?”

Zuko’s face contorted as if he were about to yell, but he seemed to compose himself. “Why would I fix your leg if I were going to stab you in the back? Like you said, I need you.” The Prince looked even more sour than usual. “And I  _ hate _ needing people.” 

“Obviously,” Sokka snorted. Prince Zuko didn’t respond, so the knight went on. “Honestly, I wouldn’t go there if I were you. I’m not sure if you’ve been before, but-”

“Oh, I’ve been,” remarked Zuko. He started pacing on the ground back and forth. 

Sokka watched the Prince’s pacing and grew anxious on behalf of him. “Why would you ever want to go back to a place like… like that?”

The knight Sokka had been to Ozai’s kingdom on more than one occasion for his knightly duties. It was no picnic; soldiers scoured the streets for anyone who could be caught breaking the law in even the smallest of ways. Children ran barefoot on the streets. There was disease and poverty and debt everywhere. Any other horrible thing you could think of- that was the Fire Kingdom. 

“That is none of your business,” stated the prince. 

“Considering I’m going to be riding on your back for the next few days, I think it might be my business.” Sokka’s eyebrows were raised and his lips were pursed-  _ I’ve won him over this time, _ he thought with a grin. 

“No. It’s too complicated.” Zuko’s voice had a finality in it that made Sokka finally shut up about it. 

“Ozai’s kingdom is that way-” Sokka pointed, “-but really, I don’t know why you bother.”

After a moment of what looked like complicated thought, Zuko started to gather their things with a helpless Sokka looking on. There wasn’t much to gather. Then, the Prince stared at Sokka for a minute. “How are we going to do this?” 

“I’ll just hop on your back, easy peasy!” exclaimed Sokka, reaching his hands out to Zuko like a toddler reaching for their mother. “But, uh… help me up first? 

Reluctantly (and with a sideways glare), the Prince reached down and took Sokka’s hands to pull him up off of the ground. Sokka hissed as pain raced up his leg. He fell almost immediately, landing right in Zuko’s arms, his head against the other’s chest. So much pain was shooting up his side that Sokka didn’t even notice their position. 

When Sokka finally regained his balance , he used Zuko’s arms to pull himself up onto one foot. He looked up at Zuko. Their faces were inches apart. 

The unscarred part of Zuko’s face was bright red, and his good eye was wide open. Both boys looked shocked - embarrassed, too, but mostly shocked - at how close their bodies were. Sokka felt his face burn and his arms tingle. How did this make him feel so incredibly alive?

“Sorry,” muttered Zuko under his breath, shoving Sokka out of his arms. 

But, considering that the knight was balancing on one leg, this was a stupid move. Sokka’s arms waved in the air as he went off balance. As he fell, he yelped in pain and grabbed the air to try and steady himself. It didn’t work. The ground was soon met with the clank of metal-plated buttocks. 

Prince Zuko gaped in utter horror at the mistake he had just made … but then he started to laugh. After all, Sokka  _ had _ just fallen on his butt. “I-”

“Save it,” Sokka deadpanned, a grumpy look on his face, “And help me up for real this time!”

So Zuko reached down and helped Sokka to his feet - er, foot - and made sure he was steady enough to hop onto Zuko’s back. They started walking through the thick forest. 

* * *

By the end of that day, Zuko was completely out of breath, and his muscles were burning. It was an incredible feat to go from sitting in a castle all day every day straight to walking through a dark wood with a grown man on your back. The work was excruciating- but Zuko could see the forest thinning as if they were close to the edge, so he let Sokka down off of his back and they hobbled together towards the end of the wood. Once they cleared the forest, there stood an archway. It read: 

_ Through trial  _

_ Through flame _

_ The purest of metals  _

_ Retain their luster  _

_ They remain unchanged _

_ And this is the way  _

_ Of the honor, glory, gain  _

_ Of the millions of eras _

_ That the Fire Kingdom reigns. _

Behind the arch was a small town with a few little straw buildings standing in it. It was quaint; with children running and playing, a well in the middle of the town, and music all around, it was almost like a fairytale village. But the kids were skinny- too skinny. They were barefoot. Every mother kept watch like a hawk on her child as if she were expecting something. Something horrible. 

Sokka felt Zuko take a deep breath under him, and his own heart seemed to drop into his stomach. Here they were- the most oppressive and militarily terrifying Kingdom ever seen on the earth- and they were about to walk right into it. 

Zuko took one step forward and passed through the archway. 

“Here we go.”


	4. Chapter 4

The entire town seemed to halt as two strangers stumbled into its wake. Music stopped. The children stopped playing and ran to their mothers, the mothers stopped gossipping and stared at the strangers, and the strangers stopped in their tracks.

Zuko scanned the scene in front of him; Every man, woman, and child had some sort of red clothing on. A hairpiece, a shirt, a sock, a shoe- looking at them was like looking at a bonfire. The little buildings they called homes were dusty and ragged. So were their clothes. They looked happy, but somehow strained. There was a wariness in the way they stepped forward to greet the two strangers. 

As a child, Zuko had never been allowed to wander outside of his castle; now he understood why. His parents didn’t want him seeing the mess that was this kingdom, lest he try to fix it. They didn’t want him to know what horrid conditions his people lived in. His heart started beating faster in his rage, but he contained himself. He had to make an impression on these people so that they would help him find who and what he needed to find. 

“Hello,” said the Prince, waving lightly with one hand and keeping Sokka upright with the other. Zuko saw a child point to the scar on his face and whisper to her mother. He averted his eyes, feeling his cheeks grow hot. “Um.. We, uh…”

Sokka interrupted Zuko’s feeble attempt at a story. “We were lost in the woods, and I broke my leg. Could you give us someplace to stay?” 

Zuko smiled awkwardly. 

Immediately, all of the women in the village moved into action. They fawned over Sokka (who was loving the attention) and took him from Zuko’s grip, chattering excitedly. They moved him over to a house with no windows and no door. Zuko initially couldn’t have cared less about where Sokka was, until he realized that he was all alone. There was no one to speak for him now. This fact made him uneasy; his stomach twisted itself into a knot. Something wasn’t quite right about this village. 

“Mister?” 

Zuko looked down. There, tugging on his robe, was the child who had pointed out his scar. She was a small girl, about six, with two blazing gold eyes and a tiny black topknot. Zuko didn’t respond. He only nodded. 

“My.. My mom said that you and your friend can stay in our house. If you want. Until his leg gets unbroken.” The kid looked away from the Prince. She obviously didn’t want to look at his face. 

Looking up, Zuko locked eyes with a woman standing a few feet away. The woman waved at him.  _ That must be her mother, _ thought Zuko, his heart seeming to soften at the sight of these kind people. He genuinely did not know how he was supposed to react. 

“Tell her we would be honored to stay at her house until the knight heals.” He looked at the house with no windows and no doors and tried to see Sokka inside of it. No luck. 

The kid ran immediately back to her mother and took her hand. They entered the smallest of the houses- its door was on its last hinge. 

Zuko walked towards where he knew Sokka to be. He didn’t want to be alone  _ and _ a stranger in this place.

Sokka’s leg had been freshly bandaged. He had a crowd of teenagers surrounding him while he spoke. “... I drew my sword, quiet as a mouse, and ROAR!” He raised his arms so that they looked like claws. A couple of the girls jumped, mesmerised by the knight’s charming story. “The dragon woke up! I did the only thing I knew to do: I braved the battle head-on.” 

Zuko snorted as he walked in. “You ran like a coward. I was there.” 

The teens giggled as Sokka went beet red. “You really didn’t have to butt in, Zuko.” 

“ _ Prince _ Zuko.” 

“Whatever.” Sokka looked around at the women surrounding him. “Friends, if you will excuse us, I think that  _ Prince Zuko _ would like a word with me.”

They all got up and left, whispering to each other. One of the boys waved flirtatiously at Sokka, whose face broke into a dazed grin as he waved back. Zuko could hear little murmurings of  _ “Prince? Prince of what?” _

“I was kind of in the middle of something there!” Sokka whisper-yelled at Zuko once all of his audience had left. “I think that one boy might have - you know -  _ liked _ me.”

Prince Zuko rolled his eyes. “We don’t have time for flirting. As soon as your leg is healed, we’re out of here, so don’t make any…  _ attachments _ .”

Sokka pouted his lips and looked away from Zuko. “I can make as many attachments as I want,  _ thanks _ . And, by the way, just because  _ you _ don’t have game doesn’t mean the rest of us can’t flirt a little bit.”

“I- I have game!” protested the prince. He turned his head so that Sokka wouldn’t see the pink blush creeping up his face. “I just… choose not to use it.”

“Yeah, sure!” scoffed the knight. 

There was a moment of tense, testosterone-filled silence. 

“You know, I’m starting to doubt whether you’re even a Prince in the first place. You’re a firebender, so you can’t be Prince of the Earth or Water Kingdoms, and the Air Nomads don’t even have princes!” Sokka stared at Zuko, one eyebrow raised and an inquisitive look on his handsome face. 

Zuko froze. His heartbeat sped up faster than it had when he was battling the dragon. His face went hot. His palms got all sweaty. Had Sokka figured it out yet? The seconds passed like minutes, and with each of them, his stomach felt more sick. 

“What? Are you having an aneurism or something?”

“No.” Zuko looked at Sokka with anger engrained deep in his face. It was an emotion he was very used to. “It is none of your business who I am or where I come from. I have half a mind to leave you here with your… boyfriend!” 

Sokka rolled his eyes. “Really? How mature. Using boyfriend as an insult. Pff.” But his face was growing red. “I just thought he was cute, okay? No need to get your panties in a wad.”

Zuko crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, obvious embarrassment in his posture. “Look. My past is my business. I don’t need to tell you my life story in order for you to take me to Ozai, alright?”

“Woah, take you to Ozai?!” Sokka’s eyes went wide as saucers and his face paled. “That was never on the table, bub. I’m not going anywhere near that monster.” He turned his nose up at Zuko. 

“Fine, then. I’ll do it on my own.” And without another word, Zuko turned and exited the building, Sokka calling after him. 

He was determined more than anything to see and confront Ozai. He had wrongs to right; he had people to avenge. Zuko stormed into the town square before realizing that he had nowhere to go; nowhere but that little girl’s house. So, that was where he went: to the littlest of houses in the entire village. 

Prince Zuko stood outside their door for a minute, feeling awkward and clumsy. He wasn’t used to being a guest; he was used to housing them. Finally, though, he knocked three times and waited, drumming his fingers on his arm. 

The little girl’s mother opened the door with a smile on her face. It was obvious that she used to be beautiful, but age and life had worn her down. “Oh! Honey, it’s the Prince,” she called to the house behind her. “Come in, come in.” And she ushered Zuko into the house. 

Their house was small, but it seemed like a home. There were chairs and couches filling the living room. The kitchen, although tiny, was joyous and clean. 

“Your house is… nice,” Zuko offered, his voice quiet. 

“Thank you,” said the woman, her voice warm. She smiled up at the Prince as her daughter came running towards her mother. 

When she saw Zuko, however, she stopped in her tracks and her eyes widened. “Hi,” she murmured, looking at her feet. 

The Prince felt extremely awkward being in someone else’s home. He nodded. “Hello.” 

The little girl’s mother was bearing a smile that was so bright, it outshone any of the fire lamps going in the room. “Please, sit,” she suggested to Zuko, gesturing to the chairs in the living section of her home. “Make yourself comfortable.” 

So Zuko went and sat in the living room. The little girl followed him. 

“I’m Emiko,” she said softly, still not meeting Zuko’s eyes. “Momma says you’re a prince.” 

“Well, I am. Prince Zuko.” The Prince looked away from Emiko for a little while. He had never really been good at talking to kids. But the room grew quiet and tense, so he looked back at her and saw her immediately revert her eyes from his scar. Zuko sighed. 

“It’s okay. You can look at it. It’s a little scary, I know.” He turned his face so that Emiko could better see his scar. What he didn’t expect was for her to reach up and touch it. Zuko’s face went slightly pink. 

“How did you get it?” she asked, her finger tracing the outline of his scar. 

“A dragon gave it to me. It was the dragon my father sent to guard the tower I was locked in.” 

Emiko’s eyes widened and she sat in a chair beside him. “You were locked in a tower?!” 

Zuko nodded. “For three years. Three long years.” 

“How did you get out?”

“A knight came and rescued me. Well, I kind of rescued him.” The Prince shook his head, a small smile on his face. 

“The one with the broken leg?” asked Emiko. 

Zuko nodded and looked over at the kid. She was looking at him with the most childlike wonder in her eyes… That was something Zuko hadn’t seen in a long time. To see the youth of the Fire Kingdom living in such awful conditions was a shock to Zuko’s system. 

“Hey, look what I can do!” Emiko lifted her hands up towards the Prince’s eyes. Inside of her tiny hands was an even tinier flame. 

_ A firebender.  _

Zuko’s heart seemed to soften. “Are you the only one in your village who can?” he asked, his chest somehow welling with pride. 

Emiko’s face fell. “Momma says that my Dad used to be able to, but… He left. A long time ago.” 

Something popped the bubble that had been forming in Zuko’s chest. He took a deep breath. “Well, now you aren’t alone.” He lifted his hand and produced a flame, bigger than Emiko’s, and warmer, too. 

The child’s face broke into a grin.

Zuko’s smile grew, too, and he felt truly happy for the first time in three years. 

* * *

“Come in.” 

The door creaked, letting light into the dark, spacious room. A girl walked in. The door shut with a thud. 

“You wanted to see me, your Highness?” 

Ozai turned around and greeted the girl with a small nod. She curtseyed to him respectfully, never looking him in the eye. Not once. 

“Yes, I did.” He clasped his hands together. “I’m sure by now you have heard of my little.. problem.”

“Yes, sir.” 

The King walked along the edge of his dark throne room, lighting individual gas lanterns with his finger as he went. He stared at the girl. “Excellent. Then you know what I want you to do.” 

“Yes, sir.” The girl’s smile was slight, but there. She loved to be needed by the King. 

“Good. Very good.” Ozai’s smile looked just like the girl’s. He looked away from her to walk over to his throne. “Do not fail me.”

The room now glowed with an ominous, foretelling sort of light. Fiery lamps reflected off of the gold of Ozai’s throne and danced avidly on the floor; every flame had a heartbeat, a purpose, a life. 

King Ozai turned again to face the girl. “You will do well. Dismissed.” 

“Yes, father.” 

And Azula turned away from her father to walk out of his throne room, a satisfied smirk on her face. Her heels clicked and her dress swished.  _ Get ready, Zuzu,  _ she thought as she strutted away.  _ You won’t escape so easily this time.  _


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW- THERE IS TRANSPHOBIA IN THIS CHAPTER. thanks for reading !

In the dim light of her castle bedroom, Azula brushed her long, black hair. Her handmaiden roamed the room and picked things up off the dark wood floor: skirts, shoes, undergarments, the like. There was absolute peace in the air, as if this was something that happened every day. 

Azula sighed suddenly and turned around in her chair to face her handmaiden. “Ty Lee,” she said with an air of superiority, “Tomorrow, I want the nicest dress you can find. But it needs to be breathable- I have to be able to move.” 

“Yes, Princess,” obeyed Ty Lee, a cheery tone in her voice as she put away the last few items in her arms and went straight to Azula’s closet to find the most beautiful (and breathable) dress she owned. She started rummaging through every silk dress, 

“My father has entrusted me with the most important mission,” Bragged Azula with a glance back at Ty Lee to see if she was impressed. “Of course, I can’t say. It’s top secret.” 

Ty Lee’s smile radiated the whole room, in Azula’s opinion. “I’m not surprised, Princess. You’re very trustworthy.” She pulled a dress from the rack; a deep maroon one. “What about this one, your majesty?”

Azula stood up and walked over to Ty Lee, taking the gown from her. She locked eyes with her handmaiden, whose cheeks flushed just slightly at the sudden eye contact, and nodded. “This is perfect. And, Lee,” she looked down at the dress in her hands. “Call me Azula.” 

“Okay,” Ty Lee replied with a hushed, tense breath. “Azula.” 

They stared into each other’s eyes for what could have been an eternity or a split second; Azula couldn’t tell. All she knew was that she wanted to look into those eyes for a long, long time. 

Finally, Azula looked away from her handmaiden, reaching for a ribbon to tie her hair up before she went to bed. “Father says my dear  _ sister _ is back in town.” 

Ty Lee dropped what she was holding. “Your… your sister, Madam? I was under the impression that you had a brother.” 

“Do  _ not _ correct me, Ty Lee! Father says that she.. she is confused! He says Zuzu is misled!” Azula turned to Ty Lee, her face hard and threatening. This was the face that scared nations into bowing at her father’s feet. This was the face which carried prodigal fire behind her fingertips. 

The handmaiden cowered at her Mistress’s fire-laden glare. “Y-yes, Ma’am. I’m sorry, Ma’am.” There were tears in her sparkling eyes. 

The fire in Azula’s eyes seemed to dim as she realized what she had just done, the tone of her voice. She backed away in apparent shame. “Lee… I didn’t mean it. I didn’t mean to yell.” 

But Ty Lee had backed away to the bedroom door. She curtseyed briefly and left without a single word. 

Azula was left reaching after her, shame in her soul and confusion in her heart. 

* * *

“Keep your shoulders back. Knees bent- there you go. Now take a step with your arm straight and-  _ yes _ !” 

Zuko’s smile was radiant as it ever had been as Emiko finally mastered her first basic firebending form. They had been training for three days, and the little girl was ecstatically eager to learn new things. Now, at age six, she had mastered a firebending form. 

Sokka watched from afar. His leg ached as he sat in the shade, safely sheltered away from all the action. He loved seeing Zuko train Emiko; it was the only time that Zuko was (or at least looked) truly happy. It was really a sight to see: Zuko calmly bending down to adjust Emiko’s form, and the slight smile on his face when she did something exceptional. Emiko hadn’t produced any fire yet, but soon, she might- and Sokka couldn’t wait to see Zuko’s face when she finally managed it. 

“I did it? I did it!” Emiko squealed and ran up to hug the Prince’s leg. 

Zuko looked like he had never been hugged before in his life. His eyes got wide and he froze on the spot, staring as the little girl wrapped her arms around his shin. 

Laughing, Sokka turned his head around and saw Emiko’s mother smiling sincerely behind him. 

“Isn’t she the most beautiful little girl?” sighed the older woman. 

“She really is,” replied Sokka, watching Zuko’s clueless face. “Adorable.”

Emiko’s mother looked down at Sokka, her face softening. “The Prince… Do you know what happened to him? His… face?”

Startled at first, Sokka simply stared at her in shock.  _ Did she really just ask that question? _

“Unless you don’t want to share,” said the woman, rather quickly. “I completely understand.” 

Sokka’s shock finally wore off. “No, no- I’d tell you, honestly, but I don’t know.” he sighed, looking back at Zuko and the little girl. “He’s secretive, that one.”

“But he’s so good with Emiko. Better than her dad was, even.” 

The knight genuinely didn’t know how to respond to this statement. 

He watched Zuko demonstrating a firebending form that was slightly more advanced, noticing his muscles rippling under his thin shirt. What  _ had _ happened to the Prince’s face? The man was a complete mystery to Sokka. Not only did he not know how he felt half the time, but he didn’t know where he was Prince of or why he had been locked in that tower. There was simply so much that Zuko left up to Sokka’s imagination (which had a tendency to run wild). 

“You like him a lot, huh?” asked Emiko’s mother. 

Sokka nearly jumped out of his chair. “Me? Like him? No! I-I couldn’t like him less, as a matter of fact. He’s too... “ he paused, thinking for the right word.

The woman had a knowing smile on her face. “Mysterious?”

“Yes! How did you know?” Sokka looked up at her, his eyes wide. 

“I happen to be very wise,” she joked. 

Emiko came running to her mother, yelling excitedly about the new forms she had just learned. The little girl’s face was alight with excitement, her cheeks red and her eyes sparkling. Sokka noticed that she had the exact same eyes as her mother. 

He turned his head and saw Zuko in the field in front of him. He was rolling up his sleeves to just above his elbow- then he started to firebend. 

Fire shot out of both his hands, his feet, even his mouth, and every move he made was beautiful. It looked like a dance; it looked like art. Each grandiose movement, each graceful step, every tiny breath he took was fully calculated and intelligently measured. 

Looking over at Emiko, Sokka saw her expression as Zuko exhibited his skills. She watched him like he was a god. 

“Hey, Zuko! Mr. Hot Hands! I wanna talk to you,” called Sokka from his seat in the shade. 

“Prince Zuko!” he called right back, but he obliged and started to saunter towards the Knight, wiping sweat off his forehead as he went. 

Sokka felt his face grow hot - must’ve been from all the firebending going on. He sat up a little straighter as Zuko approached. “Look, I know you don’t like to share information with me and everything, and you are a very private person. I get that. But, I have to know.” he paused, considering Zuko for a second. “Your… your face-” 

“I lived with a fire-breathing dragon for three years and you’re wondering how I burned my face?” Zuko interrupted. 

_ Oh _ . 

_ Duh _ . 

“I- Oh,” Sokka mumbled, scratching his head. “Yeah. That… That should have been obvious. Sorry.” 

It was getting dark now, so the four gradually made their way inside to get ready for bed. Sokka was the last of them to stumble like a bull in a chinashop through the cozy little house. His leg was wrapped in bandages and still broken; there were no waterbenders who could heal him in the Fire Kingdom. 

Zuko seemed… weird. Sokka could see him sulking in corners, only responding to other people with nods, and avoiding everyone’s eye. There was no hiding it; something was on his mind, even if he wouldn’t tell his travel companion about it. But Sokka, in all his determination, decided that he was going to find out. 

They made their way to their prospective bedrooms, saying goodnights (except for Zuko, who remained stubbornly silent) and getting dressed for sleep. 

Running up to Zuko, Emiko threw her arms around his legs. “Goodnight,” she said with a hint of admiration in her voice. 

Zuko’s grumpy facade couldn’t stand this much admiration. He broke into a soft smile, patting her head with an awkward sort of affection. Then they broke apart. She understood. 

Sokka and the Prince shared a room in this small house- it was the room that used to be Emiko’s until they crashed here. It was small, and they both had to sleep on the floor. 

When they got in the room, both men started undressing. Something caught Sokka’s eye; bandages wrapped tight around Zuko’s chest. They looked restraining and uncomfortable. 

“Why the bandages?” Asked Sokka, not thinking any of it until Zuko’s reaction reigned forth. 

His hand formed a tight fist and slammed into the wall. He turned slowly toward Sokka. Anger riddled his expression, hatred filled his eyes, his arms flexed and unflexed, flexed and unflexed- this was anger like Sokka had never seen before. 

“Do not ever,” growled Zuko, “tell anyone about this. Do not say what you saw. Do not think about it. If you ever tell anyone, I swear I will kill you.” 

First, Sokka’s reaction was fear- Zuko could be scary when he wanted to. But then, all he felt was annoyance and resentment. This man held no respect for Sokka or the fact that the knight had actual feelings, and that made him inexplicably angry. 

“No,” stated Sokka, his voice trembling slightly, “You are going to tell me about those bandages because you respect me as a person!” 

Zuko’s eyes flamed with anger, but he hesitated before he yelled next. “It’s none of your business!”

“Tell me!” 

“I won’t. I- I  _ can’t _ .”

“Tell me, Zuko!” 

“ _ I was born a girl, okay!? I was born a girl! _ ”

Sokka’s face went white. 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW- transphobia in this chapter!

Tense, uncomfortable silence. The air seemed thick as butter, cold as ice, humid as a sweat lodge. 

Sokka’s mouth felt dry and parched. He… he didn’t know what to think. His brain was having a hard time computing the two things.  _ Zuko _ and  _ Girl _ didn’t seem to go together. He had never in his life thought of the Prince as anything except for a man.

“I… I didn’t want to tell you,” mumbled Zuko, his face bright red with embarrassment and shame. “It’s embarrassing. And I've never met anyone else who is… like me. Who was born like this.” 

Looking up at Zuko from where he stood, Sokka tried to decide what to do and how to feel. He had never encountered anyone like Zuko, either; that was the truth. But... in his tribe, it was unorthodox for a man to have romantic feelings for another man. Sokka had had those feelings before (much to the chagrin of all of his tribe). Could it be possible that Zuko was really just like him? 

“Look, man, it’s not a big deal,” Sokka began, his face also going red at the awkwardness of the situation. “You’re a man now. That’s really all that matters to me.” 

Something softened in Zuko’s expression. It was almost like he had never heard anyone say such a thing. 

Zuko took a deep breath. “That’s why nobody has heard of a Fire Kingdom Prince. Azula’s sister, the runaway-” he shuddered at the word  _ sister _ , “-that’s me. I’m the second princess.” 

“ _ Prince _ ,” Sokka corrected him, “You’re the runaway  _ Prince _ .”

Zuko and Sokka locked eyes for a few seconds before quickly looking away. Something stirred in Sokka’s gut as their eyes pierced each other’s. 

“And it’s the reason I was banished.” Zuko said, his voice flat and expressionless. Sokka noticed how gravelly it sounded; like it had been through something difficult. “My father banished me when I was no longer his impressionable princess.”

There was another moment of tense silence, where the unspoken truth reigned supreme.  _ Zuko was not welcome in this nation. Not anymore. _

“So… The tower, the dragon, the burn- those are all because-” Sokka’s eyes wandered across the bandages on Zuko’s chest and travelled up to his face. “-because you were born in the wrong body?” 

Zuko only nodded. 

“That’s not fair.” Sokka said huffily. 

“Welcome to the Fire Kingdom,” grumbled Zuko. “We can’t dance, we can’t sing, we can only train and train to become personal war machines for my father.” His fists were clenched to his sides, and Sokka thought that he might be drawing blood from his nails. 

“Must have been hard.” Sokka looked at the floor.

“Yeah,” affimed Zuko. 

They sat in silence again, but this time, it wasn’t awkward. They were open with each other now. There was trust. 

“You… you wear those bandages all the time?” Asked Sokka, breaking the spell. His eyes were permanently averted to the floor. He studied each floorboard with precision. 

“Uh, yeah,” Zuko replied, staring anywhere but at the knight. 

“Wouldn’t you break a rib? Is it hard to breathe?”

Zuko shrugged his shoulders. “Sometimes. I don’t care.” 

“You should care. You can’t fight the King with a broken rib,” Sokka smiled a little. He was half-joking, but mostly serious. 

“I never- I never said I wanted to fight him!” 

“C’mon, Zuko,” Sokka said, rolling his eyes. “You’re too serious and all grumbly and stuff. I know you want to train and fight him to take over the kingdom from this unjust reign!” (The last little bit was very overdramatic.)

Zuko tried to hide his small smile. It didn’t work. 

Sokka smiled his goofy smile. Something about breaking the Prince’s stony facade made his insides feel… squishy. 

At that moment, the door swung open. It was Emiko’s mother- but her usual, hospitable look was gone. It was replaced by cold, hard determination. 

“You’re the Princess?” she whispered, obviously trying not to wake her daughter up. She was staring, face stone still, at Zuko and his bandages.

Sokka’s eyebrows furrowed. “It’s Prince now.”

“Tell me the truth,” commanded the woman. She completely ignored Sokka’s correction. “Are you the runaway?”

Zuko and Emiko’s mother stared at each other. Eyes wide, boring into one another, they were having a silent battle of the wills. Sokka’s heart was beating fast; something about the look that the woman was giving Zuko seemed threatening. There was something bitter and unspoken in the air. 

“I am,” Zuko replied, his inner Prince showing through his straight shoulders and proud chin. “I’m the runaway.” 

The woman’s eyes became hard and glazed over. She stood tall, her chin up. “Get out,” she whispered. “We cannot harbor a banished criminal.” 

The bottom of Sokka’s stomach dropped to the floor. 

Zuko looked just as confused. “We- we can’t get out. Sokka’s leg-”

“I don’t care,” she stated, voice shaking. “Get out of my house. Get out!” 

“Mrs., there’s no need to-”

“You have endangered me- endangered my daughter!” her voice was rising now, as if she were slowly losing her composure. “Harboring you would be treason! High treason! My daughter would be left with no one!” 

The fact of this seemed to hit Zuko like a 200 pound platypus-bear. Sokka watched as his travelling companion weighed each possible action in his mind, eyes conflicted and in obvious pain. Clearly, Zuko had grown to love young Emiko. She was his little prodigy, his student- how could he endanger such an innocent thing? 

Every ounce of Sokka was screaming internally for him and Zuko to get out and hide  _ as fast as they possibly could _ . He didn’t understand what the question was here- they should leave immediately, no question about it. 

“Fine,” muttered Zuko, his eyes burning with some feeling that Sokka couldn’t quite identify. “We’ll leave. Let us gather our stuff and leave quietly, or your entire village will be dead before they can even start to spread news of our departure.”

Sokka’s breath caught in his throat.  _ A threat? Is he threatening this poor village? _ But the more he looked at Zuko, with his chiseled face and proud shoulders, the more he started to think that wasn’t the case. Maybe, instead of a threat, it was a warning.

But what could possibly be so dangerous that it could destroy an entire village? 

* * *

  
  


Azula sat smugly in her carriage. Ty Lee, her handmaiden, sat with her; she was shaking from head to toe. 

“Ty Lee, you’re shaking like a squirrel toad,” Azula said snappishly. “Stop it.” 

This command was ineffective to say the least. “I’m sorry, Mi- I mean, Azula,” she said quietly, hugging her arms to her chest. “This mission just doesn’t sit right with me. It seems… wrong.” 

“How could it possibly be wrong?” Azula laughed her pitiless laugh. “Father commissioned it. He knows best.” 

“But, Azula,” began Ty Lee, “What if.. what if he doesn’t? What if this time he made a mistake?”

“Father doesn’t make mistakes.” Azula stated. It was final. But Ty Lee, in her worry, kept shaking. “Look, Lee,” Azula sighed and put her steady, reassuring hand onto her handmaiden’s back. “I trust my father. I trust this mission! My sister needs to be reckoned with if it’s the last thing I do.”

Ty Lee looked down at her lap. “Okay,” she whispered. “I just hope you don’t get carried away.” 

“I don’t get carried away. I have composure- something dear Zuzu never had.” Azula’s sly smile returned as the two dragon moose pulling her carriage pulled to a slow stop. “We’re here, Ty Lee.”

Ty Lee squeezed her mistress’s hand so she would have good luck, and Azula felt her cheeks heat up. 

“This village won’t know what hit them,” whispered the Princess. 


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: TRANSPHOBIA

“Was that- did you just threaten this village?” Sokka questioned urgently after Emiko’s mother ran out of the room. His heart was beating hard with anticipation and nervousness; where would they go after they were forcibly removed from this village? Also, Sokka still couldn’t walk. That was a  _ major _ issue. 

From his seat on his bed, the knight stared in disbelief at his companion. How could someone be so incredibly heartless? “This is the village that took us in- gave us a home, at least for a little while. And you just went and threatened them.” 

“No,” snarled Zuko, “I warned them.”

His look was so serious that it made Sokka’s quick-racing heart skip a beat. The Prince started flitting about the room, gathering anything that they had left there. Shirts, extra bandages, Sokka’s armor, anything that would fit in a small bag- Zuko grabbed it and stuffed it inside of his small duffel. He scanned the room carefully. 

Sokka, on the other hand, felt completely and utterly helpless. He attempted to stand up on his good leg - the other leg, although less painful, was still undeniably useless - but he was so unsteady without someone to help him that he sat right back down again to watch. 

“Staying here-” he grunted, stuffing stuff further into the duffel bag than the duffel bag was meant to carry, “-in this tiny town-” he tied the bag closed with a skilled hand, “- was a mistake.” His toned hand wiped droplets of sweat off of his brow. Sokka noticed the veins running through it. “My sister will be on her way.” 

“Your- your sister?” Sokka stuttered as he tried to form a coherent thought, having been distracted by Zuko’s figure in front of him. “The princess?”

“Princess Azula.” 

Sokka’s gaze darkened in a grave kind of fear. “No way.” 

“Yeah.” Zuko sighed and his eyes narrowed. 

“She’s the stuff of legend. And not the good kind of legend, either.” 

Zuko shook his head, letting it hang low. “I’m not sure I want to know what she has been up to these past three years.” 

Dozens of horror stories flooded the knight’s worried mind. He knew that name as well as he knew his own. Rumors surrounded her: Azula, the conqueror of nations. Azula, the Fire Nation’s fury, the princess with no conscience, King Ozai’s pawn. Azula, the firebending prodigy. Azula, slaughterer of civilians.

There was a moment of knowing silence. Sokka knew that Zuko loved his sister… but he also knew how horrible that sister could be. 

“Trust me, you don’t,” muttered Sokka. 

Suddenly, Zuko’s head shot up and his eyes widened. He turned his head towards the nearest wall. 

“Wh-” began Sokka, but Zuko held up his hand to silence him. The knight went immediately quiet. 

There was a faint rustling… a clopping… the sound of many heavy footsteps on the solid ground. 

Realization hit Sokka like a steel Fire Navy ship. She was coming.  _ The princess _ . 

“We have to go. We have to go  _ now _ .” Zuko quickly and quietly slipped the duffel bag over his shoulders. He bent down and picked Sokka up. 

“Hey- hey!” Sokka protested as he was thrown over Zuko’s shoulder. “Watch it!” 

The Prince said nothing; he only walked Sokka out of the room and slipped out of the house. 

There was a small crowd gathering in the center of the town, each person scared and somewhat angry at all the disturbances this late at night. They were centered around something- something big. There was commotion all around. 

Sokka could barely see because he was slung over Zuko’s shoulder, but he could hear perfectly well. Someone in a rustling dress was moving, slowly, seemingly scanning the crowd. Then, the most piercing female voice Sokka had ever heard pierced the air. 

“Where is she?” asked the shrill, demanding voice. 

Zuko was silently slipping through the shadows, trying to get away without being detected by the crowd or the person it was surrounding. 

When nobody answered her, the woman in the dress cleared her throat: “I  _ said _ , where is the princess?” 

“Princess Azula, maybe… maybe they don’t know,” A smaller, more innocent-sounding voice rose above the harsh one. 

“Oh, they know, Ty Lee,” whispered the Princess menacingly. “I can see it in their eyes. All I have to do is wait for one of them to-”

“Your highness, please,” cried an older woman, her voice trembling with fear, “We didn’t know there was a princess among us. He presented as a Prince-” 

A smack, like someone was slapped across the face. 

“ _ She _ is a  _ Princess _ ! The runaway, and your town harbored her.” Azula let out a laugh that was completely merciless, cold, unforgiving. 

Zuko moved farther away from the crowd that shielded the two boys from the Princess. His steps were light as little cat feet - a product of his princely training, Sokka assumed - and he moved with a grace that was unlike anything Sokka had ever experienced before. 

“Princess Azula, your grace,” grovelled a townsman, “It was this woman who harbored the runaway Princess.” A pause. “The mother of Emiko.” 

Sokka’s heart fell to the floor. He felt Zuko stop dead in his tracks. 

Sokka heard the entire commotion at once, although he couldn’t see it. Shuffling, a terrified crowd; someone yelled indistinctly. A woman struggled against her restraints in vain; The same woman grunted as the sound of a hard kick echoed in the clearing. Someone spat - probably blood. Then, the scene went suddenly, deathly silent. Sokka could’ve heard a pin drop. 

“The Prince is on his way out,” croaked a strong, motherly voice that Sokka knew well. Emiko’s mother. “You’ll never find them.” 

The pure anger and hatred in the Princess’s voice was unfounded. It was terrifying to hear. “You underestimate me, peasant,” she spat quietly, voice steady. “My family is more powerful than any king in this nation’s history.”

“Fear is not power, Azula,” Emiko’s mother pleaded. She sounded so desperate. “The moment you realize th-” 

There was another sharp  _ slap _ . “How dare you address me in such a manner?!” 

“I’m not sorry,” seethed the woman. “Your father is no king of mine.”

Something crackled in the sky, and before Sokka could register what was happening, there was a bracing clap of lightning that shocked the breath out of every townsperson. 

Then, there was screaming, so much screaming - but the screams of a certain little girl crying for her mother echoed and soared above the rest. 


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: TRANSPHOBIA

Zuko’s brain was frozen. He could feel everything, everything, deep in his body. His heart, pounding and pounding away as it alerted him that he was in danger, His feet, planted firmly on the ground and braced, ready to run. His arms, holding desperately onto Sokka who was slung over his shoulder. 

He could also feel stirrings in his soul that he was struggling to keep down. He could feel in his heart the cries of Emiko, calling for her mother. He could feel his hold on Sokka tightening with his longing to protect the Knight. He was so, so torn- torn between Emiko’s cries and Sokka’s safety. How,  _ how _ was he ever supposed to decide? 

Then, Sokka reached his hand back and rested it on Zuko’s shoulder. “We have to go,” whispered the knight, his tone apologetic and mournful. “For your safety, we have to go, Zuko.” 

And in that moment, Zuko decided that he would protect Sokka with every ability he had.

The Prince started running fast into the wilderness. He shifted Sokka onto a more comfortable position over his shoulder. 

“Will - you - stop - running?” grunted Sokka. Zuko knew that the running was probably really uncomfortable for him, but he couldn’t afford to stop. Not until they made it to somewhere safe. 

Zuko gripped Sokka tighter and ran a little faster. He could feel his sister getting angrier and more wrathful by the second. If he was found, it was game over. 

“Zuko, do you even know where you’re going?” Sokka asked, his voice jumping with each step the prince took. 

“No, and I don’t need to. I know that there are plenty of caves in this area from my geography studies as a Prince- we’ll stop in one of those.” 

“A cave?” grumbled Sokka. “What a place for the prince of the Fire Kingdom.”

Zuko rolled his eyes and continued running, a stitch burning his side and his lungs heaving hard against the bandages in his chest. Eventually, he had to stop. 

“Sokka… is there any way you could try to walk?” He decided that he was far enough away that they could stop for a minute. The bandages around his ribs were so constricting… 

“Dude. Do I look like I can walk?” 

“We’re out in the open… I can’t run much farther,” admitted Zuko, sharing a meaningful glance with Sokka. He just wanted the other boy to understand why he couldn’t keep running. 

However, he could hear his sister’s angry lightning in the distance. They were still not far enough. “Okay, let’s go,” Zuko sighed. He adjusted his grip on Sokka and started walking as fast as he could in the direction of the wilderness. 

* * *

  
  


“Disappointment was something I never thought I would feel towards you.” 

King Ozai once again paced his flaming throne room, staring his daughter dead in the eyes.

“That is, until now.” 

Azula’s eyes burned with fear and hatred for herself. One thing she never did was fail. Why,  _ why _ had she failed today? 

“You were raised without tolerance for failure, Azula.” 

“I know, father,” Azula said, her voice surprisingly strong considering everything she was feeling. She never once broke eye contact with the King. She barely dared to blink. “Next time, I will not fail you. I refuse to fail you.” 

Ozai smiled. It was not a warm smile, and it was anything but comforting. His smile was sly, deceiving. It held monstrosities no person could imagine. “Good.” 

Her father strided over and put his thumb under Azula’s chiselled chin. He raised her head upwards toward his own. “Tomorrow, you will leave this castle. You will not come back until you have found and destroyed your sister and every foolish follower she has. I do not want to hear of you. I do not want to see you. I do not want a single piece of evidence that I have a daughter until you are finished with your task.” Ozai took a decisive step back, his cruel features backlit by a wall of ever-burning fire. “Do you understand?” 

“Yes, father. Of course.” The princess stood up as straight as possible, wanting to appear proud. Steady. Reliable. Strong. 

Ozai turned around, finally breaking eye contact with his daughter. “Dismissed.” 

Calmly, Azula strode out of her father’s throne room, focusing on the click of her heels on the stone floor. When she reached the hallway and closed the door, however, she broke into a sprint, trying to outrun the tears that were threatening to spill over her reddening cheeks. 

Ty Lee had been waiting outside the throne room to see Azula afterwards. She ran after her mistress; she was faster than Azula and caught up to her easily. “Zula, wait!” But the princess didn’t stop. 

Azula ran all the way to her room. She slammed the door in Ty Lee’s face and pressed her back to it, sliding down it and sitting on the floor. Nobody could see her in this state - especially not her handmaiden. 

“Azula, please, let me in. I just want to help.” Ty Lee’s voice came muffled from the other side of the door. 

The princess took a deep breath and clenched her eyes shut. “I’m fine, Lee- leave me alone.” 

There was an audible sigh from outside Azula’s room. “I know you aren’t fine. Open the door.” 

Azula had half a mind to tell Ty Lee off for not addressing her as “ma’am” or “your highness”, but she ignored it and stood up to open the door. She knew that her handmaiden was ridiculously and annoyingly persistent and wouldn’t go away until she was inside Azula’s room. 

Ty Lee rushed inside. She threw her arms around her mistress, holding her tightly and refusing to let go. “What happened in there?”

“Lee, let go,” grunted Azula, pushing herself out of her handmaid's restricting arms. “I disappointed my father. That’s all.” 

Ty Lee frowned. “I know that’s not all. You’re Azula; you  _ never _ cry. So what really happened?” 

Azula contemplated this for a moment. Her first instinct was, obviously, to yell at Ty Lee and give her some sort of task to distract her from the princess’s current situation. But.. something moved her to confide in Ty Lee. Whatever it was, it was strong enough to sway Azula in its direction. 

“I’ve failed, Lee. I’ve failed my father.” She paused, clenching her fists tightly. “I was raised without tolerance for failure.” 

The handmaid's face softened, and she walked slowly over to Azula to comfort her. “Everyone’s allowed one mistake. Zula, this is your first ever mistake! It’s okay.” 

Yelling indistinctly, Azula swung around and punched the door of her bedroom, breaking a hole in it the size of her fist. “ _ No, Lee, I am  _ not _ allowed one mistake _ !” She took a deep breath and began pacing in front of the now-terrified Ty Lee. 

“I am supposed to be the golden child. I am a firebending prodigy! I am more powerful than any princess before me! I should not-” she slammed her fist on the desk in the corner of her room, “- be making mindless, foolish mistakes!” 

Silence followed these angry words. Ty Lee was staring, wide-eyed, at her mistress. 

“But most of all,” breathed Azula, her face threatening to break its steady expression, “my father… he has relied on me to be steady, like a machine, my entire existence. If I… If I am not what he wants me to be…” 

Azula felt a small, warm hand on her shoulder. She turned, tears in her eyes, to see Ty Lee standing there. The handmaiden had a soft, almost pitying look on her face. “Zula…” she whispered sweetly. 

Princess Azula’s face heated up at how close she and Ty Lee had become. They locked eyes, entranced in each other’s gaze. What was this feeling? 

“I know what it feels like to think you’ve failed,” whispered Ty Lee, “And I know the toll that can take on a person.” She took a step towards the princess. “But… Azula, you’ll never be a failure to me.” 

These words caught Azula off guard.  _ Never _ ? She would  _ never _ be a failure to Ty Lee? “But, Lee, I- I just failed! I am a failure!” 

“No, Azula, you don’t understand,” the handmaiden said with a little laugh, “My compassion for you isn’t based on your performance. It’s just… you. I love you for you.” 

_ Love _ . 

“You… What?” Azula’s confusion mounted. Love was something that was so incredibly foreign to her; it was something she had never had. And love… romantic love between two people of the same sex was forbidden in the Fire Kingdom. What Ty Lee was saying was  _ illegal _ . 

“Only in a friendly way, of course,” Ty Lee quickly exclaimed. “I love you as my best friend, as my mistress, nothing more.” But there was a blush on her cheeks that screamed otherwise. 

For once in her life, Azula was speechless. She stared at Ty Lee in awe. “You love me?” she asked, slightly uncomfortably. 

“Well, yeah. We grew up together.” 

“Oh.” muttered Azula. “Of course. Well, in that case, I suppose that I am obligated to love you as well.” 

Ty Lee sighed. “That’s not really how it works, but okay.” She took a resigned step back and walked to the bedroom door. “I’ll see you tomorrow, princess. Good night.” 

She left. 

Azula stared after her handmaiden, bewildered. She didn’t know what to think; she didn’t know how to feel. What did she feel? 

Well, for starters, if there was anyone she wanted beside her for her most difficult moments, it was Ty Lee. The girl was the most supportive person anyone could ever ask for, without a doubt. And, if there was anyone Azula felt like she could talk to and confide in, it was Ty Lee. The thought of sharing her secrets with anyone else was daunting. 

But there was more. Azula wanted Ty Lee there on her cold nights, her hard days, and her mundane tasks. She wanted Ty Lee… she wanted her like she was told never to want a woman. 

Azula felt her stomach lurch out of the pure horror of her own thoughts. She ran, sweating, into the bathroom, and vomited into the toilet. 

She couldn’t be in love with Ty Lee. She just couldn’t. 

And yet, there she was, hopelessly in love with the one person she never thought of loving. 


End file.
